Morning Routine
by AvalonBay
Summary: A simple, quiet morning in the Cranston household before the day is interrupted by the inevitably monster attack. Can work as a deleted scene from These Walls; prompt from tumblr.


**Morning Routine  
**

 **Summary- A simple, quiet morning in the Cranston household before the day is interrupted by the inevitably monster attack. Can work as a deleted scene from These Walls; prompt from tumblr.**

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Avalon gently closed the front door, turning the knob so that the sound wouldn't awaken the rest of the house. Carefully, equally as quiet, she took off her running shoes, laid her headphones around her neck, abruptly stopped the music coming from her Walkman. She went into the kitchen and started the coffee pot with a jab of her thumb. Walking through the kitchen, she went to the sleeping form on the couch, face pressed into the cushions, and pulled the blanket up to their shoulders.

A long night studying, grading papers, wondering if he'd get tenure. David Cranston certainly worked himself harder and harder as the days passed. Working to run away from the darkness and grief that followed him. She knew exactly how that felt, decided to go running simply for the same reasons if she were being honest with herself.

It was easier to push the honest thoughts aside when she distracted herself. From everything. Avalon moved from the living room back to the kitchen. She took the mug fresh from the clean side of the sink and filled the mug with a quick pour. Droplets rolled off the rim and splashed the back of her hand, making her suck in a deep breath then wave the pain away.

She licked the remaining droplets off her hand and made a face. How anyone managed to drink that stuff, she never knew. Turning on her heel, she crossed the kitchen to the door that led to the garage and stepped inside. The cool tiles beneath her feet made her take creeping, long, leaping steps to the work bench that sat at one end of the lab set up inside.

"Rise and shine, Smurf," Avalon murmured, setting the coffee mug down onto the work bench. With her hand free, she reached out and rubbed Billy's back, rousing him from a deep slumber. He sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes, prints from the wood grain pressed in his cheek. "Like father, like son," she remarked, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. "I reckon you had a long night."

"If by 'long' you mean completely uneventful, then yes," Billy agreed. "I tried to syncopate the frequencies of our morphers and the morphing grid to ensure that power output that came with our suits and weapons when we have to go back into a fight after sustaining damage and…" he gestured with his hands. "Nothing." He noticed the coffee and grasped the mug. "I'll have to work on it again after school."

"If you even make it." Avalon gestured toward the clock on the work bench. "You're running late. Almost don't have time for breakfast."

Billy mumbled and gestured with his mug, pulling the goggles from around his neck to rest on the work bench. "This is enough."

"Coffee isn't breakfast," Avalon reminded him.

Billy took a sip, rubbing at his eyes. "I know," he said, his tone betraying his irritation at hearing the same thing nearly every morning. He slipped into the house with Avalon following him.

She went to her bedroom and went inside. She placed her Walkman on the dresser by the door and climbed into the bed nearest to her. Bailey's eyes squeezed tight, her legs pulling into her chest. After a second, she made space for her sister, who stretched across the bed, wrapping her arm around her sister.

"Five more minutes," Bailey murmured.

Avalon smiled into her sister's face. "Take all the time you need." Bailey smiled and snuggled deeper into her blankets. It was the only calm moment in their days filled with monsters and attacks on Angel Grove.

They could afford to be late sometimes.

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 **A/N:** I love writing slice of life sometimes. It gives some good insight into characterization and doesn't always fit within what we've got for action/adventure stories. Hope you guys liked it.

 **~Av**


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